Vatican’s new No. 3 finds blame of Holy See officials in abuse scandal

Cardinal George Pell, pictured as he arrives for a meeting at the Vatican last month, has accused Holy See officials of downplaying the clerical sex abuse scandal in the 1990s. (Andrew Medichini/AP)

In a stinging indictment of the papacy of Pope John Paul II, the Vatican's incoming finance ministry chief said the church chose to protect sex predator priests and view sex abuse accusers as enemies.

George Cardinal Pell, the outgoing archbishop of Sydney, said Monday that was the Vatican's policy in the 1990s toward claims Catholic priests had systematically been sexually abusing children for decades.

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"The attitude of some people in the Vatican was that if accusations were being made against priests, they were made exclusively or at least predominantly by enemies of the church to make trouble and therefore they should be dealt with skeptically," said Pell, who's the Vatican's new No. 3.

Pell, 72, made the stunning statements while testifying before Australia's federal inquiry into accusations of child sex abuse in state and religious institutions.

It wasn't until a group of American bishops met with Pope John Paul II in the late 1990s to convince him of the seriousness and legitimacy of the accusations that the Vatican began to take the issue seriously, Pell said.